It’s been less than a month since Donald Trump was inaugurated as our nation’s president, and in that time, we’ve seen an unprecedented series of crises unfold daily before our eyes. He has empowered an unelected billionaire who has taken control of your personal information and the data that our federal government should be safeguarding. These corrupt and illegal moves (previewed in a document called “Project 2025”) are taking place so Donald Trump and Republicans can achieve their number one priority: draining the government of its funds to give massive tax breaks to the billionaires in our country.
What is Project 2025? It is a right-wing blueprint of how to dismantle the federal government. Donald Trump swore he had “nothing to do with” Project 2025 and called its authors part of the “radical right.
But a recent Time analysis found that “nearly two-thirds of the executive actions Trump has issued so far mirror proposals from the 900-page document." Trump nominated Russell Vought, a co-author of a Project 2025 chapter focused on expanding and transforming the authority of the presidency, to be the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The chapter Vought wrote argues the ability of the president to use the military against Americans, exert increased influence over the normally independent Justice Department, and more.
You might’ve heard about the recent announcement by OMB (in a memo on January 27th) freezing federal grants – an effort that would have ended millions in federal funding El Paso depends on for local school districts, public safety, housing assistance, food banks, and so much more. Slashing spending programs without Congress was one of the moves Vought wrote about in Project 2025.
I hosted a press conference you can watch here about the impact locally. Fortunately, this effort is tangled up in court as of this writing – but that doesn’t mean we won’t deal with the consequences anyway.
It’s not just the attempts to freeze federal money to communities that has been shocking; there are other Project 2025 steps the Trump administration has taken that should send chills down the spine of every American.
In his first week, Trump fired 18 inspectors general and replaced public servants with people who took loyalty pledges to him. Inspectors general – independent government watchdogs whose job it is to find corruption and waste – were fired from agencies such as the departments of Defense, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, the Interior, and more. Trump also fired lawyers at the Justice Department and reassigned the chief of the public corruption unit.
And last weekend, Elon Musk – an unelected billionaire – and a group of 19 year-olds he brought in with him took over the Treasury Department and raided the department's federal payment system, which handles trillions of dollars annually, including Social Security & Medicare benefits and tax credits. The consequences of Musk controlling this payment system could be tremendous: he could choose what government bills to pay or not to pay, he could cut off payments to specific destinations (like blue states or districts), and he could divert funds from his competitors or worse – agencies like the VA or Social Security Administration that millions rely on – and make profits for himself.
To be clear, none of this “improves governmental efficiency.” And the President and Republicans are perfectly comfortable with this. “Elon can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate,” said the President in the Oval Office on Monday.
Reading about all of this, you’ve likely come to the reasonable conclusion many others have had over the last two weeks: “Congresswoman, what are you doing about all of this?”
I want to be candid with you, as has been my commitment. Republicans were given full control of the entire federal government by American voters. As a member of the minority party in Washington, there are limits to what I can do.
My priorities include shining a light on what’s happening and sounding the alarm so El Pasoans can understand the consequences we are all facing and utilizing my oversight powers to do so.
For example, I recently sent a letter to the Department of Defense, ICE, and Department of Homeland Security to address concerns raised by the use of military personnel and assets for removal and deportation purposes, and I’ve been going to the agencies where Trump and Musk are illegally dismantling our government to find out what’s going on. My team and I are coordinating with local leaders in city and county government, law enforcement, non-governmental organizations, and more to ensure we’re ready and united for whatever is thrown our community’s way as we did with our rapid response to both the OMB memo and Trump’s threats of a trade war with Mexico.
My team and I are going to do everything possible to protect Americans, federal employees and our community. But I can’t do this without you. In moments of helplessness or anxiety, remember, you have power too.
Stay informed. Amplify the truth. Make your voice heard by calling our two U.S. Senators. El Paso has a second member of Congress who represents the far east side and parts of Northeast El Paso. Let him know how you feel about all of this.
I’m grateful for the work and time you put in to making our community and our country a better place for all.
